The pull-aside meeting will be the pair’s last face-to-face exchange before Obama leaves office in January.
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“I think if only the American group had respected the working arrangements first made with China then this wouldn’t have occurred”, Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing on Monday.
Relations between London and Moscow have been strained by differences over Ukraine and Syria in addition to Britain’s complaint that flights by long-range Russian bombers near British air space have increased.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov, meanwhile, said that the meeting “went longer than expected”. They also discussed Ukraine and US concerns over cyber-security.
“Just as I believe the Paris agreement will ultimately prove to be a turning point for our planet, I believe that history will judge today’s efforts as pivotal”, said Obama.
“Russians walked back on some of the areas we thought we were agreed on, so we are going back to capitals to consult”, the diplomat said.
The issue of the Syrian crisis dominated the discussion at Putin and Obama’s meeting on the G20 sidelines, but the leaders also touched upon other problems, the Russian president told the media. Kerry and Lavrov are said to be considering one more attempt to find common ground on Monday, but little hope accompanies that scenario.
He noted that the Russian and USA leaders discussed Syrian and Ukrainian issues. “Usually our meetings with Putin are held in an open, honest, business tone, and this was no exception”.
“But if we do not get some buy-in from the Russians on reducing the violence and easing the humanitarian crisis, then it’s hard to see how we get to the next phase”, said Obama. “It is indisputable that it would create a better deal for us than the status quo”, Obama said. There are various anti-dumping suits now pending against the country while the United States has already hiked import duties on Chinese steel products by up to 500%.
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Russian Federation is part of an alliance trying to defeat the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria and Iraq – but has been criticised for military action which appeared to be supportive of keeping the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s regime in power.
